Jeb's entry and the problem with Common Core

Washington Examiner ^ | 12/30/2014 | Editorial Staff

[HomerBohn]

Jeb Bush's early entry into the 2016 presidential campaign has already turned the Obama administration's Common Core education standards into one of the hottest topics among conservatives ahead of the 2016 primary.

Bush, who had left office as Florida's governor by the time the standards were unveiled, doggedly supported them, both in his personal statements and through his nonprofit Foundation for Excellence in Education. The standards were and are controversial, facing ferocious opposition both from Tea Party conservatives and teachers unions.

The most dramatic political manifestation of the anti-Common Core movement occurred in the 2012 election in Indiana, where conservative activists helped install a liberal, union-backed opponent of Common Core as state educational superintendent, defeating an incumbent Republican who supported the standards.

Teachers unions have often opposed the creation of educational standards in principle, but Common Core often comes under fire from the Right because its compliant textbooks recommend strange methods for learning math that are perhaps not well-suited to children's formation in the subject. It has also given rise to reading lists that exclude timeless classics in favor of contemporary drivel.

But Common Core is not a method, nor a reading list, nor a curriculum. It is merely a set of national educational standards. And on those grounds alone, conservatives are right to view it with skepticism.

Education is a state and local issue. The oft-maligned principle of federalism was embedded in the Constitution for a reason. It defies common sense to suggest that bureaucrats in Washington are in a better position to dictate educational policy in rural Iowa than the locals themselves. The educational needs of different communities vary dramatically and will not likely be met by a one-size-fits-all policy from a federal government that already fails to manage its constitutional obligations properly.

Common Core is also a cautionary tale of how one manifestation of big government begets another. One incentive President Obama has used to spread Common Core has been to waive for those states that adopt it some of the burdens placed upon them by former President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law. Big government thus becomes leverage for big government. Conservatives are right to be skeptical, even if the Common Core standards represent an incremental tightening of whatever state standards existed before.

Moreover, Common Core seems a distraction in terms of solving America's education problem. Jurisdictions that have either legalized educational choice or allowed public charter schools to operate outside rigid government (and union) controls have discovered enormous parental demand and found much better ways of teaching. In educational reform, this is the most important step, not uniform national standards.

These objections do not automatically disqualify Jeb Bush or any other Common Core supporter from pursuing the GOP nomination. In fact, conservatives should be wary of pandering on this issue. Opposition to Common Core might in some cases be nothing more than a cheap, easy way for politicians to ingratiate themselves to teachers unions.

But state and local control of education is an important principle. At the very least, Republicans who seek the presidency and support Common Core standards should explain whether they respect limitations on federal power, and if so, how they would show that respect from the White House if they believe education is a federal problem.

[InterceptPoint]

To learn how to code takes some sort of mental discipline and CommieCore is not equipped to handle that kind of detail.

Yes, I know. And "Hour of Code" is not, AFAIK, directly connected to Common Core. But I'm suspicious.

And my initial take on "Hour of Code" is that it is basically "Programming Appreciation" and not really coding per se. It actually functions more like a game. I guess the idea is to hook some of the kids with the game and they will follow up by actually pursuing programming. Maybe that's a good idea. Maybe not. Maybe it will work. Maybe it won't.

If I was teaching coding I would not start the way they do with the Hour of Code initiative. I would start with Visual Basic or Javascript or somehing like that and teach coding directly. But that's just me.

[9thLife]

Islam is being taught in US schools through common core.

Islam was being taught in my 6th grade class sometime back in the 1970's.

[ballplayer]

I have heard common core described as just a program that is designed to teach reasoning,so all the complainers should zip it

[ballplayer]

I have heard common core described as just a program that is designed to teach reasoning,so all the complainers should zip it